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Diamond Deuces
It was in September of 1932 that Ab cylinder engines, but the ’32 Ford became against the floorboards reigns supreme. list is an important piece of hot rod histoJenkins drove 24-hours non-stop in a V12 a watershed vehicle for Ford, the automo- The sport of drag racing would later per- ry.”
Pierce-Arrow around a 10-mile circular bile industry and American culture. The colate up and out of the dry lakes. Of
Ford assembled a committee of 25
track out on the Bonneville Salts. He scarcity of this combination coupled with course there were more than just Fords enthusiasts including racers, collectors,
logged
2,710
miles,
averaged an enduring desire to own an “original” getting the “hot rod” treatment; Chevro- journalists, hot rod builders, and museum
112.935MPH, experienced no mechanical one – has pushed today’s prices to obscene lets, Studebakers, Chryslers, Dodge, curators and asked them to determine the
trouble, pitted for gas 12 times yet never levels in excess of $30,000.
DeSotos, Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles, Buicks, “diamond deuces” – 75 cars that made an
left the drivers seat. That’s some pair of
Money aside, the ’32 was the cast iron Pontiacs - were all part of the emerging impact, made a difference, or inspired
iron britches, folks. Although this speed muse for young men and women who had hot-rod culture, but the ’32 Ford has enthusiasts to build one of their own.
attempt strictly adhered to the prevailing the need for speed, sparkling ingenuity engendered unwavering respect and affec- Among the group were Greg Sharp from
sanctioning body regulations and had and the determination to re-build these tion.
the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports
plenty of unbiased witnesses, few
Museum, Ray Brown, Pete Eastbelieved the accomplishment.
wood, and our own Gary Meadors,
Local Salt Lake businessGoodguys Rod & Custom Associamen said such a feat was
tion.
“preposterous” and the city
“The deuce was the best hot
newspaper refused to publish the
rod that ever ran down the road,”
results calling it nothing more
said Jerry Kugel, of Kugel Kompothan a “publicity stunt.” Worse,
nents, also a member of the
the almighty AAA Contest Board
selection committee for the Demisthat presided over American racesquicentennial celebration, “I liked
ing events labeled it “absurd”
the look of it decades ago and I still
before leveling a $500 fine on
do, it doesn’t wear out.” Jerry Kugel,
Jenkins for making the speed run
67, started going to the lakes in the
without their “permission.”
late 50’s, arriving at the Bonneville
Back in Washington, D.C.,
Salt Flats for the Nationals in 1962
the Revenue Act of 1932 had
racing a ’34 roadster. Later, in 1965,
been enacted in June, creating
he came back with a ‘32 and after a
the first gas tax in the United
couple of years earned membership
States at one cent per gallon
in the prestigious 200MPHClub.
sold. The Mars candy bar and
“I made into the 2 club in
Zippo lighters appeared in drug
1967,” recalled Kugel who was then
stores. Comedian Jack Benny
employed at Ak Miller’s Garage, “It
broadcast his radio show for the
was the first roadster to exceed
first time and adventure film
200MPH with two-way average
“Tarzan the Ape Man” opened
using an unblown engine. I asked Ak
A vintage shot of Tony Waters #161 roadster as it waited in line at the Bonneville Salts Flats for a
with Olympic gold medal swimif I could have the blown-up 427
chance to contest the class D record. Waters today remains a powerful engine building "go to" guy.
mer Johnny Weissmuller
laying in the corner. When I set the
swinging in the title role.
record Ak said, ‘Good for you’
Speaking of the Olympics, the winter cars far beyond their original capabilities
“This list of 75 recognizes the best of knowing I had rebuilt his throwaway
games were held in Lake Placid, New York and often rivaled the performance of the the best,” said Larry Erickson, chief engine.” That car – the race car – was
and later the summer games came to Los best in the world.
designer, Ford Motor Company, who selected as one of the diamond deuces
Angeles. Singer Johnny Cash and exotic
Next year, 2007, will mark the 75th came up with the idea, “The process used built and owned by Kugel.
dancer Blaze Starr were born while the anniversary of the car’s debut and Ford to gather the initial nominations, research
Each committee member was asked
nation bid farewell to band leader, con- Motor Company decided to spotlight the cars, reconcile differing descriptions to nominate 75 of their favorite 1932’s.
ductor, and composer John Philip Sousa “deuce” heritage by determining 75 of the and break ties for the last few spots on the After nominating 474 individual cars folthat year. Amelia Earhart flew non-stop most significant ’32 Ford hot rods. Henry list was really exhaustive and precise. This lowed by three rounds of balloting and
from the USA to Northern Ireland – the and Edsel could not begin to imagine the
first female to do so.
widespread, long-lasting impact their early
These were the times into which third decade contribution would make, or
Henry Ford introduced his first mass-pro- that it would become the nucleus for the
duced V-8 engine dropped into the 1932 booming aftermarket industry, now $31
model sporting body styling shepherded billion strong.
by son, Edsel. It cost around $500. Not
That nucleus was fertilized in the earmany of the new V8’s (aka flathead) were ly days of land speed racing in this country
built as the public preferred the four- where the desire to mash the throttle
Jerry Kugel's #1262 red roadster after a run down the saline speedway
of Bonneville.
14 May.2006
Vic Edelbrock, Sr. was already a first-rate mechanic and business owner when he
arrived on the dry lakes racing scene. His '32 was purchased wrecked from a
movie stunt man, rebuilt it and not only began to break speed records, but used
the vehicle as a rolling testbed for his many speed part designs. Vic, junior, wife
Nancy and daughters Camee and Christi continue to run the company under the
same philosophy and the Edelbrock name is synonymous with reliable quality in the
speed equipment business
tie-breaking, the panel had their diamond
deuce register.
“It’s a pretty complete list,” remarked
Kugel, whose street roadster was also
selected, “I don’t think we forgot anyone
and it was such a lot of fun to be part of. I
spent three days going through all my old
photos and magazines.”
I was struck by the number of land
speed racing machines on the list.
Whether they were strictly dirt runners,
or sent up salt spray out on the flats, take a
look at some of the speedy chosen:
Balchowsky /Vogel – Roadster
Ray Brown -Roadster
C&T Automotive/Siroonian -Roadster
Currie Enterprises - Roadster
Vic Edelbrock, Sr. - Roadster
Jim Khougaz - Roadster
Jerry Kugel - Roadster - Bonneville
McGee/Scritchfield - Roadster
Ak Miller - Roadster
Veda Orr - Roadster
Ed “Axle” Stewart – Roadster
Walsh /Walsh/Cusack - Roadster
Tony Waters – Roadster
Theses others may not have been
race cars, but most folks will recognize the
names were heavily invested in speed trials
over the years:
Lynn Yakel - 5-window
Ermie Immerso – Roadster
Doane Spencer –Roadster
Ford has photos of all 75 cars, 60 are
known to still be in existence and Ford is
still looking for the others. The idea is to
assemble as many of the “75 Most Significant ’32 Ford Hot Rods” to be part of an
anniversary exhibit at the January 2007
Grand National Roadster Show in
Pomona, California. In a time when
American automakers seem to be stumbling through the marketplace (why, I
can’t fathom because they certainly have
the talent), it is comforting to know that
Ford is revisiting one of the reasons that
made the company great in the first place.
“We’re launching a major effort to
locate and contact the current owners of
the 75 cars so that they can begin making
plans to bring them to the ’07 anniversary
exhibit,” said Erickson. “A primary reason
for assembling the list is to publicize the
historic importance of these cars with the
objective of encouraging people to come
forward with information on where they
are or what happened to them. We want
to tell the complete story of every one of
the 75, and have them all together in one
place.”
Gray Baskerville - Roadster
The Currie Enterprises AA street roadster is a fine example of the roots of land
speed racing - a 1932 Ford. 2007, will mark the 75th anniversary of the car’s
debut.
Ed Axle Stewart and his deuce out for a day of high speed play at the dry lakes.
The military admirer's in the background make it a good bet this is the legendary
Muroc meet. Can you tell from what era the uniforms hail?
www.good-guys.com 15